#Azula meta

[balanceoflightanddark]

I feel one of the scariest things about Ozai is not necessarily the physical abuse he pulls on Zuko or Azula. It's the mental abuse and how under the radar it is.

Yes, it is easy to look at Zuko's scar and be horrified by his abuse. What I feel is more effective was that Ozai made Zuko believe that he deserved it. That he had to go on this three-year odyssey to try and find the Avatar for a chance at gaining his love back. Their reunion isn't about Ozai apologizing. It's Ozai saying how proud he is of Zuko for making up for HIS mistake. He doesn't mention the Agni Kai at all, and when Zuko does turn, he tries to make it sound like some exercise in learning respect.

Same thing with Azula. Ozai puts the mantle of Fire Lord on her shoulders, effectively giving her the responsibility of running a country. He puts on so much pressure to have her to be perfect (pitting her against Zuko, sending her out on missions). The only approval that he gives is for her performance which reflects on him. Basically, he treats her more like an asset more than as a person. And any failing she makes is on her part.

He puts so much responsibility on both Zuko and Azula, but never takes any for himself. So if they displease his high expectations, that's their fault.

And they believe him.

#ozai #ozai atla #zuko #zuko meta #ozai meta #azula #princess azula #azula meta #fire lord ozai #atla #avatar the last airbender #atla meta

[akiizayoi4869]

The thing that I find to be so funny and annoying about Azula hate is that people just do not seem to realize that Zuko could have ended up just like her, if it wasn’t for the fact that he had positive influences in his life. One of the many reasons why Azula is the way she is, is because none of the adults thought that she was worth the time and effort. Which Ozai saw and took advantage of. Thanks to his parenting “skills” and other factors, she learned how to play the game very early on in life in order to survive. Zuko, however, never got the memo, therefore he did not know how to play the game. Azula learned how to play the game and Zuko did not. That’s like, one of the many things that sets these two apart from each other, and what ultimately makes Azula’s character so tragic in the end: she thought that learning how to play the game and playing that game well would be what would protect her and keep her safe, but instead it’s what led to her eventual downfall. Meanwhile, Zuko not learning/knowing how to play the game is what initially put him in harm’s way at the palace, but it’s inevitably what saved him and put him on the better path in the end.

#atla #azula #zuko #azula meta #zuko meta #atla meta #atla analysis

[julietwiskey1]

I think this panel is one of the most interesting ones in the entire comic.

It confirms the long time theory that the asylum was never about treatment of its patients. But rather a convenient place to make daughters of nobles disappear so they can’t cause a fuss.

Azula needed help after the Agni Kai. But they did not send her to a place that would give it to her. Even if they had good intentions at the asylum they probably had little to no experience with treating actual patients. So they restrained her and locked her up and abused her because they didn’t know what else to do.

It also hints at why Azula was there. Not to treat her mental health issues. But to turn her into a proper sister and niece for Zuko and Iroh. A place to make her subservient to her family as they see fit. And the other girls were in there for the same reason.

#azula #azula meta #she was in the asylum to be shaped into a good girl #it had nothing to do with her health #I doubt they actually knew how to treat someone like Azula #so they abused her because it was easier

[zuko-always-lies]

Am I'm the only person who thinks Azula's love language is really, really clear?

Like, what does she do?

Hugging her friends when she's sees them again.

Telling Mai that she's very glad to see her again.

Humiliating her friend's awful, abusive, neglectful parents in front of her.

Giving her (distinctly non-royal) friends seats on a throne.

Making the impossible happen and sacrificing her status as heir to the throne so that her brother can come home.

Openly telling her honor-obsessed brother than he's restored his honor in her eyes.

Repeatedly trying her best to comfort her super-angsty brother whenever he got worried or stressed or sad.

Using physical touch to try to make her brother feel better.

Getting her brother invited to a party.

Doing what she can to try to prevent Zuko from doing something stupid that will get him banished again.

When she screws up and makes her best friend cry, apologizing and using physical touch to comfort her in order to make her feel better.

Risking her life in order to protect her defenseless father.

This is not an ambiguous list. It's probably more clear and straightforward than what we see of Toph's love language, for instance, and if any character less demonized by the narrative than Azula did what Azula does, the fandom would have zero doubt about how deeply she loves people.

And sure, Azula is a bad friend who does plenty of other things which badly screw up her relationships, but I don't think Mai or Ty Lee or Ozai ever doubted for a second that she cared deeply about them. Zuko was the only one so oblivious he couldn't notice, and I'm sure it was blindingly obvious to both Ty Lee and Mai that Azula loved him very deeply.

And all this clarity of love language came despite Azula not having a single family member who ever showed her clear and unconditionally love and affection.

#Azula #Azula meta #Ozai #Mai #Ty Lee #it's really clear

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Also can we talk for a sec about how Azula dreams of Zuko without his scar? Like I've seen so many people talk about how Azula is happy that Zuko was burned.

Okay, so why does he appear in her dream (this thing that is clearly intended to showcase her ideal world) without the scar? She dreams of a family where Zuko wasn't abused and they're just a family.

Of course it has some Azula touches where the Avatar is dead and Ba Sing Se is conquered. So her dreams are still infused with the beliefs instilled within her. But she also has her own desires in there which is to be hugged by her mom and have a family that loves her and gets along. One that is functional.

I do think that Zuko's scar bothers her and that her father's abuse of him bothers her. Otherwise he'd have is scar in the dream and he wouldn't be sitting peacefully next to Ozai.

#avatar the last airbender #azula #zuko #ozai #azula in the spirit temple #headcanon #meta #azula meta

[pizzaboat]

I swear the only reason child/teen characters like Azula get so demonised is because people see kids as beings that are meant to be wholy good.

Any kid that fails to be perfect, acts out, or is anyway morally complex compared to an adult, they are then no longer a child and dehumanised in people's eyes. The only other word for them is "monster" because people can't understand why the image of a child in their head isn't lining up with what they're seeing, and they make hateful speciulations because of it.

And Azula (no suprise) is a "bad kid." She's violent, angry on the inside, occasionally cruel, and takes her insecurities out on other people.

She doesn't act like how people expect a child would react to seeing their brother be burned by their father, and people ignore the context of why she might react the way she did, or just don't consider that Azula might have only been smiling in Irohs POV

Kids aren't "good". They're emotional. They react to emotion, they sometimes feel empathy, and how they choose to use that empathy ultimately decides how society judges their morality.

Azula had no one bothering to teach her right from wrong, outside of Ursa, who'd just yell at Azula and send her to her room. Ursa didnt know what to do with her and didnt care if Azula heard her audibly wondering what was "wrong with that child".

Ozai punished Zuko for the same traits that people claim Azula is evil for not displaying. Why on earth would Azula hesitate before trying to kill and or, best her enemies? Why would she show honest emotions? Why would she defy her father? Why would she make the switch over to good with no incentive to?

She's a 14 year old kid who's watched Zuko be burned and be discarded by her father when he was 13 for publicly "disrespecting him." Even if you don't think Azula cares about Zuko, that doesn't mean she isn't getting the same message that the rest of the public onlookers are getting. Ozai doesn't tolerate insubordination

She's been alone with Ozia for 3 years. Raised by him her whole life. No one else has ever given a damn about her, and she's more sheltered from the real world than regular kids in the firenation

Azula is the only one looking out for Azula, and if she has to parrot what her father says and does, and doing that keeps her safe from Ozia and the rest of the world, why would she stop? Why would she act like a regular good kid? Why would she even know how to?

#Azula #Zuko #Ozai #azula deserved better #atla meta #azula meta

[ilikepjo24]

On Azula burning turtleducks...

She doesn't.

That's it, that's the meta.

Of course that's not all, I have proof.

Some antis used Azula in the Spirit Temple as "proof" of her burning turtleducks because of her flashback from when she learned how to firebend.

And that's stupid.

Azula most definitely did set a turtleduck looking thing on fire. But it wasn't an actual turtleduck. You can tell by the way it's drawn.

It's laying down unnaturally and it's not trying to get up despite the fact that it should be startled by the person approaching it, especially if the person approaching it is someone that hurt it.

Despite the fact that is has been picked up, it doesn't react at all, doesn't try to escape and doesn't turn to look at the person that picked it up.

A new person has entered the picture and the turtleduck has no reacted with curiosity or fear caused by the new presence and motion, when other living creatures in the panel (Azula) have.

The turtleduck is literally on fire and isn't making any noise of pain, it's not trying to escape, it's not writhing, it's not reacting at all. It's just sitting there like "Is it hot in here? Are you hot?"

The turtleduck is making no attempts to nurse it's wounds of escape from the grip of the person that had set it on fire. It's showing no fear or pain or any emotion at all.

The mother of the little monster doesn't give a fuck about the turtleduck. You'd expect a woman that wants her children to treat animals and plants with respect, would stop her daughter from harming a turtleduck. Realistically, if it was real, Ursa would remove it from Azula's hands and try to nurse it to health or return it to its mother, but she doesn't. She doesn't even care. She only pays attention to Azula, because Azula is the only living thing in the picture. The turtleduck is not real. All Ursa cares about is Azula's firebending and it's what she's disappointed at. She can't exactly lecture a kid for developing naturally, so she stays quiet. But she very much can lecture a kid on setting an animal on fire, so if the turtleduck was real, she'd be scolding Azula.

To try and villainize Azula by painting her as a turtleduck burner is dumb when the turtleduck isn't even real. It's probably a toy of hers or Zuko's. Probably hers, since Ursa isn't saying anything about Azula stealing from Zuko, but it could be Zuko's too, considering we know Azula burned his toys.

She did do that, right?

Wrong, possibilities are she actually didn't.

But that's for another meta.

Anyway, Azula doesn't burn turtleducks, she only throws bread at them.

Thus proven.

#atla #azula #Azula meta #azula analysis #azula in the spirit temple #baby azula

[missaccuracy]

Maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but Ursa's treatment of Azula is actually abuse.

" The opposite side of scapegoating is favoritism. "

“Favoritism is the practice of systematically giving positive, preferential treatment to one child, subordinate or associate among a family or group of peers…. Favoritism becomes dysfunctional when actions and opportunities, resources and liberties are systematically denied or applied inequitably for no logical reason and without just cause.” (Out of the FOG)

Favouritism is just another type of emotional abuse, which Zuko has also endured.

" I could sit here and complain about how our mom liked Zuko more than me, but I don't really care. "

Ursa traumatized Azula to the point where she developed a coping mechanism. " I don't really care. " Because if she doesn't care, she can't get hurt.

1. Ursa is a horrible monster

2. And Ursa is completely blameless in how Azula turned out, and it's actually all Ozai and Azula's fault...

Are both inaccurate interpretations of the show.

The sad truth, is that many parents don't even anknowledge they have a favourite child, but it is abuse regardless, because they are showing different treatment with their actions.

Ursa still can aknowledge her mistakes and do better, but we can't excuse abuse and act like she didn't leave an emotional scar on Azula, because she left it.

#atla #azula #ursa critical #psychology #avatar #meta #analysis #azula meta

[five-flavor-soup]

I personally think that basing your interpretation of how Ursa treated Azula on Zuko’s memories shown in ‘Zuko Alone’ is kind… incorrect. You can obviously — they’re the only real images of their childhood we get in the cartoon, other than the tiniest of snapshots in sepia — and that’s fine, but for me personally I just don’t think they’re complete enough.

These memories are from Zuko’s perspective. Not Ursa’s, not Azula’s, not Ozai’s or Iroh’s—Zuko’s perspective, his memories. And they’re all about him and Ursa together: every one of these memories have Ursa at their centre. We see her protect him and be kind to him, see her be physically affectionate and gentle, see her encourage him to be kind to himself and to Azula.

They essentially tell us that Zuko is Ursa’s son first, Ozai’s son second. Ozai remains a hovering, intimidating shadow on the sidelines (we still don’t see his face, we don’t see him genuinely interact with his children, and we see him irritating his father while being a very hands-off kinda dad himself) but Ursa is fully present. And ‘Zuko Alone’ is about Zuko trying to figure out who he is: the memories show that he views being his mother’s son as an exceptionally important part of his identity, which means they are about Zuko and his relationship with Ursa alone.

They are not supposed to tell us that Ursa neglected or abused Azula emotionally—that she only focused on protecting Zuko, while leaving Azula to suffer in Ozai’s incapable hands. Sure, we see Ursa scold Zuko for acting like Azula and cuddle him right after, and we see her scold Azula for acting mean and not cuddle her right after, but the key differences here are that Zuko shows guilt after frightening the turtleducks and Azula doubles down on trying to scare Zuko. The behaviour is different and will be, by any halfway decent parent, treated differently. 

I’m absolutely not saying that Azula wasn’t abused, because she 100% was. She was absolutely abused by Ozai, and I’m not ruling out that Ursa didn’t have a hand in how Azula ultimately turned out. But my point here is: these memories are far too limited and narrow for the viewer to properly determine whether Azula was treated incorrectly by Ursa. 

Zuko isn’t going to remember an intimate, lovely moment between Ursa and Azula when all that’s on his mind is his identity, and how it’s entangled with his mother and what she may have sacrificed for him. Additionally, he’s not particularly fond of Azula at this moment in the show (she did kind of kickstart his being a refugee, disregarding how the audience sees this sequence of events having begun), so he’s not going to remember her fondly either. Why would Zuko try to remember Ursa’s relationship with Azula at that point, instead of his own?

(Small tidbit: we also... don't know if Ursa's last words to Azula were 'what is wrong with that child', disregarding the comics which completely ruin azula anyway. Again, the memories are from Zuko's perspective and therefore won't show any private moments between Ursa and Azula. We're not even certain whether Azulon actually ordered Ozai to kill Zuko, or if that is simply what Azula interpreted it as/thought would be funny to say--causing the sequence of events that ultimately put Ozai on the throne. But whatever)

#fact of the matter is #based on the text itself the 'bad mom ursa' trope is iffy at best and completely unfounded at worst #ozai is VERY MUCH the aggressor of the family here #and ursa (in punishing her children for behaviour ozai would encourage) is trying to undermine him #scolding your kid for being mean isn't abuse actually. that's just parenting #ursa #azula #zuko #ozai #atla #avatar the last airbender #atla meta #azula meta #zuko alone #fire nation royal family #abuse mention

[phoukanamedpookie]

hot take from me: I don't think Azula needs a redemption arc. I think she needs help, therapy, and care.

But saying that a child who was abused and who yes did bad things need to be redeemed or to redeem themselves leaves such a bad taste in my mouth.

What children do when they are trying to survive abuse and are in survival mode can not really be judged as good/bad dichotomy.

Because that child is not existing in world of good/bad, they are not making choices in regards in this moral thing to do, the good thing, the right thing vs not.

They are living in a world of will this help survive this moment yes or no. Even if they don't realize.

Azula should and can apologize for hurting people, but she doesn't need to be redeemed.

And in turn the adults in Azula's life should be apologizing to her and be trying to right by her. Ursa and Iroh failed her and did not protect her.

Azula and Zuko were both abused and abandoned by both their parents in diffrent ways.

Zuko at least had Iroh to help him, to guide him, and to step in as a parental figure. He also had some positive memories associated with their mother.

This is not to say one's abuse is worse or better than the other because that is not how abuse and trauma works. It is simply point out that Zuko thankfully had a support system, a safety net where Azula had none.

That lack of a support system is very damaging. Azula is some who has been hurt and who is realistically deals with a lot of fear even if she puts up this fearless aura about her.

She like Zuko has trauma. She like Zuke deserves understanding and compassion.

She like Aang, Toph, Katara, Sokka, and Zuko is a child too.

👆👆👆

Also, lemme dig up that post I made about Azula just starting to gain a yetzer tov because she was literally too young to have one before.

#azula #azula meta #actual human child azula #yetzer tov

[balanceoflightanddark]

You know, it never ceases to amaze me how some people believe that Azula was coordinating the campaign in the Earth Kingdom when Zuko being invited in during a war meeting at the age of 13 was considered to be abnormal in universe.

#azula #princess azula #azula meta #zuko #atla #avatar: the last airbender

[akiizayoi4869]

Been having some Azula thoughts (really, when do I not?) and every time I think about this girl, I'm in awe as well as baffled about how the writers just...got so many things right and wrong at the same time when it comes to her. Mostly in the way how she was abused, and how people both in universe and out react to that. Like, it's very clear that the writers themselves didn't realize that they wrote her as an abuse victim until way after the show ended, and it's evident by the way how she was handled during the show, as well as in post canon content. In universe, the two people around her who could have helped her (Iroh and Ursa) don't realize that she was being abused because Ozai favored her over Zuko, so they figured that she was safe with him, whereas Zuko wasn't. Obviously this wasn't the case at all, but it shows you just how fucked up the kind of abuse Azula suffered really is. Because it's subtle. So subtle that the people around the victim tend to not realize it until much later. And this unfortunately happens in real life too. What's so damn infuriating about this though, is the way how the writers just dropped the ball so damn hard with it. Because it's framed as being Azula's fault. That she rejected any form of help she could have gotten (which is a lie because she was never offered any help to begin with) and her circumstances are her fault. That the adults in her life didn't fail her actually. Even though they absolutely did. And I wish that canon would fucking acknowledge that, because man that would be one powerful story to tell. The adults owning up to their mistakes, and actually trying to do right by her for a change. And yet they just absolutely refuse to. It's almost like they really don't see Azula as an abuse victim because she was mean to people, and manipulated them. Which is such a black and white view of abuse, and a dangerous one at that. It's even more stupid when you realize that Zuko wasn't a picture perfect abuse victim, and yet they were still able to acknowledge that he was abused. Basically what I'm saying is that the writers have a perfect example in their hands of how being the golden child/favorite child of an abuser isn't a good thing at all, but they unfortunately fail to utilize this effectively.

#atla #azula #zuko #iroh #ozai #ursa #atla meta #azula meta

[starlight-bread-blog]

My Interpretation of The Last Agni Kai

(Disclaimer: This isn't critisism of Zuko as much as it a small breakdown of the tragedy of the royal family. This post was also editted and it may not appear in reblogs).

Do you hear this language? "The showdown that was always meant to be". It's somewhat true, but I'd argue that it's not because of who they are as people. It's because of Ozai.

It's because they're the golden child and the scapegoat. It's because they've been put against each other by their abuser.

I would argue that she is sorry. She does love her brother, and she didn't want it to end this way. Zuko cannot see that, and he isn't sorry.

In The Beach, Zuko burns a picture of them, as a family.

To him, the picture resresents the perfect past. Before everything went to shit. But he no longer fits there. Even though he's back. He's frustrated, he hates the world, and wants to burn it all.

Especially after he has redeemed himself, he is sure there is nothing for him. His mother is gone, his father is abusive, and Azula: the prodigy, the favored one, who belittled him from the day Ozai began to favor her. She left him in the dust while making it extra dirty. She's barely his sister anymore, she's the untouchable force making his life worse.

In Zuko Alone, Azula practically taunts him over his planned murder.

This is what Zuko sees. Not a human, not a sister, but a boogeyman. After all, Azula always lies. What he doesn't see is Azula's reaction when she realizes the situation is serious. She'll never let him see that.

Azula could have burned the bridge all those years ago, when he was banished. But she didn't. She is the reason he's back home, on that beach. Ozai was her God, she was disciplined to him and only him, even more than herself. And she lied to his face so Zuko could come back home. She's cunning, manipulative and dangerous, but she loved her brother.

Zuko can't see that. Even when "she's slipping", he can't see that. Of course he wouldn't, her love for him is overshadowed by the damage she caused him, and his envy of her. She's above him, the demon haunting him. As Ozai and their history led him to believe. And he sticks to this belief, until it's disproven.

(Author's note: Azula's face here makes me want to cry, props to the animator)

She's human, his sister. And she's trurly sorry it had to come to this.

The Last Agni Kai is a tragedy. It's the story of two siblings who grew up in an abusive household, with a dad who played favorites. One made all the wrong choices, while the other could not fathom the other's humanity. They don't reconcile, they put themselves against each other. Because it's the showdown that was always meant to be. And he only recognizes it wasn't, after it's over. Now, he too, is sorry.

#next to aang's non violent solution #this sticks out like a sore thumb #tw abuse #tw child abuse #prince zuko #atla zuko #fire lord zuko #firelord zuko #zuko meta #azula meta #princess azula #atla azula #azula avatar #azula and zuko #zuko and azula #sozin's comet #the last agni kai #atla meta #atla analysis #avatar the last airbender meta #avatar the last airbender #avatar aang #avatar: the last airbender #atla #a:tla

[zuko-always-lies]

What was Azula's actual truth/lie ratio with Zuko?

Of the meaningful things she said to him, how many were lies?:

The Avatar State:

Tells Zuko that Ozai has forgiven him and wants him home-lie

Tells Zuko that Ozai thinks he's worthless-truth but Zuko refuses to believe it.

Crossroads of Destiny:

Tells Zuko that she thinks he can redeem himself and earn back his honor and Ozai's love-truth

Tells Zuko that he's redeemed himself in her eyes-truth

The Awakening:

Tells Zuko that he has nothing to worry about if the Avatar is actually dead like he claims-truth

The bedroom scene is interesting and open to interpretation, but it's difficult to classify anything she says there as a lie-truth

The Headband:

Tells Zuko it would be dangerous if he gets caught visiting Iroh-Truth

The Beach:

As far as I can tell, just about everything she says to Zuko in this episode is entirely truthful.

"The Avatar and the Firelord":

Tells Zuko the truth about Sozin and his life, so far as she knows.

"Nightmeres and Daydreams":

Tells Zuko the truth, that he'll be welcome at the big warmeeting.

Overall, we're at nine truthful statements and one lie. Azula seems to generally tell Zuko the truth.

#Azula #Azula meta #Zuko #fire siblings

[bellatrixobsessed1]

I'd like to take a moment to talk about art styles. Above is from the new comic. Below are from season 3.

What stands out to me about it is how young she looks in AitST compared to the show and the previous comics. Like alot of folks, myself included, have pointed out how much younger Azula looks in the show without makeup. I'd put the pics in there but I can't remember who to credit for them.

What I like about what Wartman has done so far is that he drew Azula in a way that makes her look as young as she is with her make up still on.

I don't know if it's the way he draws Azula's expressions or that (imo) her facial features look a bit softer. But Wartman's art style seems to highlight that Azula is still really young in a way that previous styles have not.

And this is something that I really appreciate.

I've said that is Azula is baby before but like that...that is baby.

#avatar the last airbender #azula #azula in the spirit temple #spoilers #azula meta #meta

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

Have you noted that no one from Azula's family was shown to express love and affection towards her?

That is mostly true. Ozai's affection is clearly conditional (and full on manipulation at worse, like we see in the finale), Ursa canonically favors Zuko to the point that we never see her spending any alone time with Azula like she did with Zuko, and while Iroh gave her a toy like he did to Zuko the toy in question was so OBVIOUSLY wrong for a kid like Azula that it's comical AND show's he did not really know his niece at all.

But there is a constant exception.

Zuko's relationship with Azula is complicated. He clearly admires her strength and power, but he hates how she uses it. She lied to him many times, was seen apparently cheering Ozai on during the Agni Kai, tried to have him imprisoned and even said she'd celebrate being an only child - and then allows him to come home as a hero after Ba Sing Se, even though SHE had the control of the Dai Li and was not yet aware Aang could have survived, meaning she had nothing to gain from it.

And when she lets him know that if he's caught talking to Iroh people might think he is a traitor too, and explicitly says "Believe it or not, I'm actually looking out for you" Zuko drops his innitial suspicion that she wanted something and that's why she was helping him.

On The Beach, he just follows her when she say their old family home is depressing and they shouldn't waste their time there. When she's asking him who she is angry at, she mentions herself and Zuko explicitly says that is not the case.

He doesn't trust her and know she has a tendency to mock or full on lie to him... yet when he wants to know about Fire Lord Sozin he asks her about it, and lets it slide when she mocks him by saying he should make sure the royal painter got his good side - for a character as quick to anger as Zuko, that is a big deal. In Nightmares and Daydreams he also goes to her to find out if he'll be allowed at the war meeting.

More importantly:

1 - Iroh's infamous "She's crazy and needs to go down" line was only said because ZUKO, without anyone putting that idea in his head before, suddenly went "I know what you're going to say. She's my sister and I should be trying to get along with her"

2 - Zuko only jumped into the fight in Ba Sing Se when Azula was being cornered by Aang and Katara.

3 - Zuko looked genuinely shocked and even distressed when she was falling off that cliff. He just sounded so shaken saying "She's... not gonna make it..."

4 - In the writer's own words, Zuko felt no hate but only pity when seeing her breakdown. Katara tried to comfort him because, canonically, even though Zuko and Azula are enemies, this was never what he wanted because he still sees her as family. That's why the Last Agni Kai's music is not the epic you'd expect from a battle, but a tragic one.

5 - Aaron Ehasz, the lead writter for the show, probably the person with the most influence after Bryke, has REPEATEDLY said that he always felt Azula should have gotten a redemption arc, Zuko being an Iroh figure to give her advice and be the only one still by her side when all else was seemingly lost to her forever.

Even the comics (most of which I HATE, mainly because Azula's storyline checks nearly every box for "the mentally ill are inherently evil/less human, so it's fine if literally every other person on the planet mistreats them") didn't fully abandon their complex dynamic.

Zuko is not a perfect sibling, and for a long chunk of the story he seemed too focused on his own issues for Azula to ever be a factor in his mind (aside from the moments in which she was a potential/explict threat), but he DOES still feel a sense of obligation towards her, to the point that it made him do something no one else in their family had done before or since - actually look at Azula. Not the prodigious daughter/perfect weapon, or the problem child that is difficult to handle, or the pontentially deadly enemy that was in the way, but Azula.

His 14-year-old sister that got on his nerves a lot, was far from the kindest person alive, and that he had a ton of issues with, but that he could never fully hate or even be indifferent to. Because she's family. Because he remembers a happier time in which the gap between them didn't seem so big. Because if things had been slightly different he could have been her. Because he went from wanting to be her to seeing just how miserable her life ended up being - especially compared to the one he now had - and feeling deeply sorry for her.

Now if you guys excuse me, I'm gonna go cry in the corner. Have some wholesome/bittersweet fanart if you wanna cry too.

#azula meta #zuko meta #fire siblings #fire siblings meta